Mathy and I met at her home in Machias over the weekend so I could interview her for this profile. I usually come to such interviews with questions prepared, but this time I was stumped. Mathy does EVERYTHING. How could I structure the interview to highlight her deep commitment to education in Washington County without leaving anything out? Truth is, I couldn’t. So I asked her what she is most proud of. She told me two things: her work as a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teaching Fellow, and the Prom Dress Boutique she puts on as advisor for the National Honor Society at Washington Academy.

Mathy has been a United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teaching Fellow for three years. She goes to Washington, D.C. every summer for a week to connect with other Fellows and gain resources and study practices for teaching the Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Washington Academy and to support other teachers in bringing Genocide Studies lessons to their classrooms. Mathy has shared her work at Harvest of Ideas for the past three years and continues to work with teachers throughout the school year to develop age-appropriate curriculum in an effort to bring these important lessons to students beyond Washington Academy.

The Prom Dress Boutique is an annual event held on a Saturday morning in April each year at Washington Academy and has been covered by many news outlets including the Bangor Daily News, Machias Valley News Observer, and WABI News Channel 5 (here is a story from this years event). Hundreds of dresses have been collected by donation throughout the years and are made available to students to pick from, as are shoes and accessories. Mathy and the National Honor Society set up the cafeteria at Washington Academy as a boutique, complete with dressing rooms, and organize the fantastic inventory on racks by size so area students may come and experience prom shopping without the prohibitive price tag typically associated with such fun.

One of the best things about Mathy is her eagerness to share. Part of her enthusiasm for her work comes from her belief that all our kids deserve the opportunities she brings to Washington Academy. you can reach out to Mathy (m.terrill@raider4life.org) if you’d like to incorporate Genocide Studies into your classroom. Somehow she’ll find the time to help you. She always does.